Patpong ( Thanks to Stickman )

Patpong, located between Silom and Suriwong Road in the heart of Bangkok's commercial district is the original "farang" area of strip joints in Bangkok.  This area dates back to the   '70s,  In recent times, the area has seen a steady increase in the number of street vendors and now there's a busy night market market running down Patpong 1 and  along the Silom Rd end of the soi.

Unlike the other red light districts of Bangkok that are frequented almost entirely by men, Patpong receives a large number of tourists including couples, females, backpackers and even children.  This tends to give the area a very touristy feel to it, that to some, masks what goes on behind the closed doors.  Everything is available at Patpong from gogo bars to massage parlours, discos, blowjob bars and sex shows.
The first thing that one notices at Patpong is that it is full on, an area of real energy.  Walking down one of the sois, you will be barraged by touts in pigeon English barking out “You want f**king show, you want cheap beers, hello handsome man, welcome please" etc. You won't and can’t escape it so if you want a hassle free evening, this may not be the place for you.

Many of the bars in the Patpong area are operated by the Kings Group.  The Kings Group has been running bars in Patpong for many years and is a chain that prides itself on actually maintaining some sort of standards within this lawless industry.  The group runs a well organised and purportedly above board chain of establishments.  Bars within the Kings Group can be identified by their name usually having "king" or "queen" in it.  You will usually see the groups crown motif somewhere around the entrance way.  For those people who have heard stories about being ripped off and only want to have a quick look at the scene can visit any of the Kings establishments without fair of hassles, hidden charges or any other worries.  

Kings Corner has many, many attractive  ' katoeys ' ( transvestites ) so be extremely careful if you decide to take a "girl" out of here!  The Kings Group insists that all girls have an STD test the morning after they have had a customer.  
Many people want to avoid katoeys although there are those who are not impartial to a night of passion with a creature that was formerly a man.  The biggest give away with the katoeys is their height - they usually stand well above your average Thai girl.   Their breasts often look too good to be true - the genuine item has seldom looked that good!  Any sign of a voice box is a sure give away.  All of the aforementioned can be cosmetically changed and if they have been taken care of then you may have more problems distinguishing a katoey from a bona fide female.  The biggest give away is the size of the hands and feet - "genuine" Thai girls typically have tiny hands and feet and katoeys cannot hide these features.   Good luck avoiding the Katoeys - unless of course you don't want to avoid them!

Patpong sees the widest range of prices asked for sexual services.  Because of the high number of tourists that frequent the area, many of the girls will try and charge as much as they can - and often get it.  Some girls ask for as much as 5,000 Baht  But then, as with other areas, if the girls want or need money, they may accept as little as 500 baht.  There are a huge number of determining factors as to whether the girl will accept a lower amount but as a rule, the more popular girls are less negotiable.  Drinks currently run at about 80-100 baht in the Patpong area.

Patpong is located right beside the financial centre of the city meaning that many expats working in the area frequent Patpong.  These locals know the routine and will not usually pay the prices that the girls want, helping to keep some of the prices at more reasonable levels.It is the best place to go if you want to see one of Bangkok's famous sex shows.  The sex shows are located in the "upstairs" bars, one floor above ground level.  Usually you walk up a flight of stairs and through another set of doors to enter the lair of sin. You can witness girls putting all manner of objects into their vaginas and performing feats that I'm sure the vagina was never designed for.  .  Stories abound of tourists being presented with bills for ridiculous amounts of money in the upstairs bars.

Another common scam is getting mischanged.  Try and avoid giving 1,000 baht notes to pay for a couple of drinks as you may find that you will get change as if the note you gave was a 500.  This situation can get a bit messy and arguments can often prove fruitless.  There are many pickpockets around Patpong and while in Bangkok in 1997, a friend had an unpleasant experience with one.   In his words, "I went to put my hand in my pocket and when I did, someone else's hand was already there"!  Often the best approach is to put your wallet/valuables in your front pocket, as many Thais do.

Although I do not visit the Pong regularly, my favourite bar is currently Cosmos, a semi-English style pub come hostess bar.  Tastefully decorated this bar achieves what the bars at Sukumvit Soi 33 fail to achieve by having attractive ladies in evening wear with a more upmarket, yet laid back feel.  The bar has the usual numbers of beautiful girls but unlike many other bars, they aren't particularly pushy - or at least haven't been when I have visited.  Combine this with a nice atmosphere that manages to avoid the sex-in-your-face approach of the nearby gogo bars and you have an alternative to some of the raunchier venues.  Many of the girls that I have spoken to speak good English although that is a more likely a sign of having serviced many customers as opposed to being well educated.  There are two or three other bars in this same style but Cosmos is in my opinion, the pick of the bunch.  If you were disappointed by Sukumvit Soi 33, this is well worth a go.  And unlike soi 33, the drinks are "standard bar prices".

Of the three major gogo areas in Bangkok, Patpong is certainly the most expensive. Many locals see Patpong as another tourist attraction and Nana Plaza now as the premier location for the best girls.

Pros:  Attractive girls, many, many bars, varied sex shows and the integrity of the Kings Group of bars.
Cons: Girls can be expensive and many are downright pushy, many katoeys, many bars are small and overcrowded, market is full of tourists, some moralistic feminazis, aggressive touts, most expensive of all the nightlife strips for drinks,  some bars common practice to rip off customers.
The Bottom Line: If it’s your first time in Bangkok, you must go to Patpong to see it for yourself.

More naked women related stuff on the next page . . .

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